Fox News Fires Bob Beckel After Racism Accusation

Human resources learned of the incident on Tuesday evening and fired Beckel Friday

Brian Flood, provided by

Published 11:29 am, Friday, May 19, 2017

Fox News Channel fired ‘The Five’ host Bob Beckel on Friday after he made racist comments. “Bob Beckel was terminated today for making an insensitive remark to an African-American employee,” the network said in a statement. The network’s HR department noted that the host made a “racially insensitive remark” on Tuesday evening and executives conducted an internal investigation. Beckel joined Fox in 2000 and originally left the channel in 2015 after recovering from back surgery. He returned to the network in 2017 after working for CNN, but will now part with Fox for good.

Media: Wibbitz

Fox News has fired “The Five” co-host Bob Beckel on Friday after he was accused of making an insensitive remark to an African-American employee, TheWrap has confirmed.

A source close to the situation told TheWrap that Fox News human resources was informed of an incident on Tuesday evening, did a through investigation within 48 hours, and made a determination that he had to go immediately.

Beckel was co-host of “The Five” which recently moved to primetime when Bill O’Reilly was fired from the network amid a variety of sexual harassment allegations. The company has since taken drastic measures to improve the internal culture after a series of news-making scandals.

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Bob Beckel was fired by Fox News.

Bob Beckel was fired by Fox News.

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From left: Andrea Tantaros, Bob Beckel, Eric Bolling, Dana Perino and Greg Gutfeld on the set of "The Five" in New York, on Dec. 22, 2011. When Glenn Beck left Fox in June, the network filled the time slot with "The Five," a panel of four conservatives and a Democrat, and the show has been gaining viewers. (Richard Perry/The New York Times) less

From left: Andrea Tantaros, Bob Beckel, Eric Bolling, Dana Perino and Greg Gutfeld on the set of "The Five" in New York, on Dec. 22, 2011. When Glenn Beck left Fox in June, the network filled the time slot with ... more

Photo: RICHARD PERRY

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Robert O'Neill

O'Neill, the retired U.S. Navy SEAL who is credited with killing Osama bin Laden, will join the Fox News team.

See the backgrounds of Fox News' other notable personalities past and present...

Robert O'Neill

O'Neill, the retired U.S. Navy SEAL who is credited with killing Osama bin Laden, will join the Fox News team.

See the backgrounds of Fox News' other notable personalities past and present...

Photo: Jacquelyn Martin, AP

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Megyn Kelly

Prior to joining Fox News, Megyn Kelly had served as both a corporate litigator in Chicago, and general assignment reporter for WJLA-TV in Washington, D.C.

Megyn Kelly

Prior to joining Fox News, Megyn Kelly had served as both a corporate litigator in Chicago, and general assignment reporter for WJLA-TV in Washington, D.C.

Photo: The Washington Post, Getty Images

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Brit Hume

Twenty-year Fox News vet Brit Hume worked for ABC News for 23 years, including a seven-year stint as a White House correspondent. He was also a frequent contributor to "World News Tonight with Peter Jennings," "Nightline" and "This Week."

Gutfeld's pre-Fox News career includes staff writer for Prevention magazine and editor-in-chief of the male-centric magazines Men's Health, Stuff and Maxim (U.K. edition).

Greg Gutfeld

Gutfeld's pre-Fox News career includes staff writer for Prevention magazine and editor-in-chief of the male-centric magazines Men's Health, Stuff and Maxim (U.K. edition).

Photo: Getty Images

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Dana Perino

Perino is a former White House press secretary for President George W. Bush. She also worked for the Bush Administration in both the Justice Department and Council on Environmental Policy.

Dana Perino

Perino is a former White House press secretary for President George W. Bush. She also worked for the Bush Administration in both the Justice Department and Council on Environmental Policy.

Photo: MANDEL NGAN, Getty Images

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Bill O'Reilly

O'Reilly worked as a local anchor in Dallas, Boston, New York and elsewhere before gaining national attention at CBS, ABC News and as an early host to "Inside Edition."

Bill O'Reilly

O'Reilly worked as a local anchor in Dallas, Boston, New York and elsewhere before gaining national attention at CBS, ABC News and as an early host to "Inside Edition."

Photo: NBC, Getty Images

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Sean Hannity

Hannity hosted a daily talk show on Atlanta's WGST station and was a recurring fill-on for Rush Limbaugh in New York.

Sean Hannity

Hannity hosted a daily talk show on Atlanta's WGST station and was a recurring fill-on for Rush Limbaugh in New York.

Photo: Kris Connor, Getty Images

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Gretchen CarlsonCarlson is a former Miss America with an extensive career in journalism. Carlson worked for local TV markets in Dallas, Cleveland and Cincinnati before joining the CBS' "Saturday Early Show."

Gretchen CarlsonCarlson is a former Miss America with an extensive career in journalism. Carlson worked for local TV markets in Dallas, Cleveland and Cincinnati before joining the CBS' "Saturday Early Show."

Photo: Rich Polk, Getty Images

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Bob Beckel

Bob Beckel worked for the U.S. State Department during the Carter Administration and was a national campaign manager for Walter Mondale's failed presidential bid.

Bob Beckel

Bob Beckel worked for the U.S. State Department during the Carter Administration and was a national campaign manager for Walter Mondale's failed presidential bid.

Photo: Noam Galai, Getty Images

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Kimberly Guilfoyle

Kimberly Guilfoyle has worked as a legal analyst for ABC News and was a regularly featured guest on "Good Morning America." She also served as assistant district attorney in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Shepard Smith worked in local TV markets throughout Florida before first joining Fox News as a Los Angeles correspondent.

Shepard Smith

Shepard Smith worked in local TV markets throughout Florida before first joining Fox News as a Los Angeles correspondent.

Photo: The Washington Post, Getty Images

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Steve Doocy

Steve Doocy was a co-anchor of New York-based WCBS' "Early Morning Newscast" and host of NNC's syndicated "Houston Party."

Steve Doocy

Steve Doocy was a co-anchor of New York-based WCBS' "Early Morning Newscast" and host of NNC's syndicated "Houston Party."

Photo: Robin Marchant, Getty Images

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Sandra Smith

Sandra Smith began her career with Aegis Capital as a research associated.

Sandra Smith

Sandra Smith began her career with Aegis Capital as a research associated.

Photo: Astrid Stawiarz, Getty Images

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Bret Baier

Bret Baier was Fox's southeastern correspondent from 1998 to 2001. Previously, he worked in local TV markets in North Carolina, South Carolina and Illinois.

Bret Baier

Bret Baier was Fox's southeastern correspondent from 1998 to 2001. Previously, he worked in local TV markets in North Carolina, South Carolina and Illinois.

Photo: The Washington Post, Getty Images

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Shannon Bream

Shannon Bream worked as an anchor for local TV stations in North Carolina, Florida and Washington, D.C., as well as a practicing lawyer in Florida. She is a former Miss Florida (1994) and Miss Virginia (1990).

Uma Pemmaraju was born in India and raised in San Antonio. Prior to FOX News, she worekd as a reporter at the San Antonio Express-News and local TV markets in Dallas and Boston. She has taught journalism at both Emerson College and Harvard.

Douglas Wigdor, an attorney representing 23 people in a class-action lawsuit against 21st Century Fox for alleged racial discrimination, said Beckel “stormed out of his office” when an African-American IT employee attempted to fix his computer, leaving the office “because he is black.”

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The IT staffer is now represent by Wigdor, who claims Beckel “attempted to intimidate our client and persuade him to withdraw his complaint.”

Wigdor continued: “As with our other 22 clients, we intend on holding 21st Century Fox accountable for these actions and will be filing multiple other complaints in other matters next week.”

A Fox News spokesperson issued the following statement: “As Mr. Wigdor knows, Fox News made the decision to terminate Mr. Beckel after a prompt and thorough investigation. His client raised the complaint to Kevin Lord, EVP Human Resources, on Tuesday evening via email and within 7 minutes Mr. Lord responded and began the investigation. Today, Fox News delivered that message to Mr. Beckel and facilitated an apology from Mr. Beckel to the employee minutes after he was terminated. No one tried to persuade Mr. Wigdor’s client to withdraw his complaint.”

Back in March, Fox News Executive Vice President of Human Resources Kevin Lord ordered all staffers to undergo a one-hour sensitivity training session. “It is critical that everyone attends to ensure that we maintain a professional workplace,” Lord said in an email to employees.

This isn’t the first time Beckel has been fired from Fox News. Back in 2015, he was let go because of “personal issues” after missing an extended period of time while in rehab for an addiction to pain medication.

He originally joined Fox News in 2000 as a contributor and first signed on as a co-host in 2011. His role on “The Five” was essentially to serve as the liberal voice among right-leaning co-host Kimberly Guilfoyle, Jesse Watters, Greg Gutfeld and Dana Perino.

Beckel landed at CNN the first time he was fired by Fox News but returned to “The Five” earlier this year when the network considered his “personal issues” to be behind him. Before landing on TV as a liberal pundit, Beckel worked as a political operative and worked at the U.S. State Department from 1977-1980. He was also the national campaign manager for former Vice President Walter Mondale’s presidential campaign.